HuckleberryFinn
Structural
First, I'd like to thank Oliver J Dragon for the excellent thread title which I am now blatantly stealing.
Second, most of this is preamble which is leading to a question that I'd like some help considering. My question is directed to those with experience in structural building consulting but others feel free to chime in.
Third, a bit of setting the stage is in order. Since the events of my previous thread ( I have been hired as a salaried engineer at a small engineering firm in the South. Since becoming an employee at my firm, I have gone through one performance review and received a week's pay bonus and a fairly standard (4.5%) raise. Huzzah. I have been told that I am one of the best EIT's the firm has had the chance to work with and that they are happy to have me. That said, I am compensated in what ASCE's salary survey says is the bottom 10th percentile for my experience/region/company size.
I am currently considering interviewing with a large company in the same city. They are not direct competitors with my current company, but both offer building consulting services (The larger company is a more industrial/process/oil focused EPC company whereas my current employer is mostly commercial/institutional architectural consulting). I think that if I applied the job, I would probably be able to get it (I know the structural department manager and have several existing contacts at the firm).
First, I'd like to say this: I really do love the job. I enjoy working with architects in a collaborative environment to create visually pleasing, economical and safe structures. I enjoy the design process: creating models, sizing beams, determining loads and documenting those designs, Hell I even enjoy hand sketching details for the CAD Techs.
What I don't enjoy (and what is prompting me looking elsewhere) is being take advantage of. I am tired of putting in uncompensated 60 hour weeks in the name of professionalism only to be rewarded for my effort with more 60 hour weeks. I don't have a family at the moment but can't help but think that that is likely a blessing as I don't know any girl that would marry someone who wasn't there most of the time.
I'm not knocking the extra hours, I don't know of any engineer that puts in just 40 and goes home (Okay, maybe in the Gov't....). I get the fact that the customer buys 8, they get one free. I'm hip to that jive man. But I'm tired of giving my life away so that a company that I don't have any equity in can profit a little more. It's not smart business (for me) and beyond that, it's not smart for me personally.
So, rant over, here is my question:
IF you were evaluating the resume of an engineer with building consulting experience for a position in an structural consulting firm catering mainly to architects and he jumped ship to an EPC firm for a few years before trying to move back into building consulting, would that adversely effect your opinion of him? Knowing the details above does it adversely effect your opinion of me? Am I whining over nothing and should just get over it?
It's just...At some point I think someone needs to grow a pair and tell people that if they aren't paying for the work, they aren't getting it!
[Rant REALLY over, No kidding this time]
Thanks Y'all,
-Huck
Second, most of this is preamble which is leading to a question that I'd like some help considering. My question is directed to those with experience in structural building consulting but others feel free to chime in.
Third, a bit of setting the stage is in order. Since the events of my previous thread ( I have been hired as a salaried engineer at a small engineering firm in the South. Since becoming an employee at my firm, I have gone through one performance review and received a week's pay bonus and a fairly standard (4.5%) raise. Huzzah. I have been told that I am one of the best EIT's the firm has had the chance to work with and that they are happy to have me. That said, I am compensated in what ASCE's salary survey says is the bottom 10th percentile for my experience/region/company size.
I am currently considering interviewing with a large company in the same city. They are not direct competitors with my current company, but both offer building consulting services (The larger company is a more industrial/process/oil focused EPC company whereas my current employer is mostly commercial/institutional architectural consulting). I think that if I applied the job, I would probably be able to get it (I know the structural department manager and have several existing contacts at the firm).
First, I'd like to say this: I really do love the job. I enjoy working with architects in a collaborative environment to create visually pleasing, economical and safe structures. I enjoy the design process: creating models, sizing beams, determining loads and documenting those designs, Hell I even enjoy hand sketching details for the CAD Techs.
What I don't enjoy (and what is prompting me looking elsewhere) is being take advantage of. I am tired of putting in uncompensated 60 hour weeks in the name of professionalism only to be rewarded for my effort with more 60 hour weeks. I don't have a family at the moment but can't help but think that that is likely a blessing as I don't know any girl that would marry someone who wasn't there most of the time.
I'm not knocking the extra hours, I don't know of any engineer that puts in just 40 and goes home (Okay, maybe in the Gov't....). I get the fact that the customer buys 8, they get one free. I'm hip to that jive man. But I'm tired of giving my life away so that a company that I don't have any equity in can profit a little more. It's not smart business (for me) and beyond that, it's not smart for me personally.
So, rant over, here is my question:
IF you were evaluating the resume of an engineer with building consulting experience for a position in an structural consulting firm catering mainly to architects and he jumped ship to an EPC firm for a few years before trying to move back into building consulting, would that adversely effect your opinion of him? Knowing the details above does it adversely effect your opinion of me? Am I whining over nothing and should just get over it?
It's just...At some point I think someone needs to grow a pair and tell people that if they aren't paying for the work, they aren't getting it!
[Rant REALLY over, No kidding this time]
Thanks Y'all,
-Huck